Sound Patterns of Syntax: Object Shift

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31 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, I explore what a purely phonological account of object shift (OS) involves and what research questions it leads to, in particular what it means for word order to be phonologically motivated and what morpho-phonological primitives are involved. I pursue the possibility that what licenses OS of full DPs in Icelandic is phonological properties, not found in other Scandinavian languages, together with overt case marking. Although the position of the object is determined phonologically, the architecture I propose, in which topic and focus play a central role, allows for an account of the semantic effect associated with OS in Icelandic.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)47-93
Number of pages47
JournalTheoretical Linguistics
Volume31
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2005

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Language and Linguistics
  • Linguistics and Language

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